The term social mechanisms and
mechanism
Mechanism may refer to:
*Mechanism (economics), a set of rules for a game designed to achieve a certain outcome
**Mechanism design, the study of such mechanisms
*Mechanism (engineering), rigid bodies connected by joints in order to accomplish a ...
-based explanations of social phenomena originate from the
philosophy of science
Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...
.
The core thinking behind the mechanism approach has been expressed as follows by
Elster
Elster may refer to:
Places
* Black Elster (''Schwarze Elster''), a river in Germany
* White Elster (''Weiße Elster''), a river in Germany and the Czech Republic
** Elster Viaduct, a railway bridge over the White Elster
** Elster Viaduct (Pirk ...
(1989: 3-4): “To explain an event is to give an account of why it happened. Usually… this takes the form of citing an earlier event as the cause of the event we want to explain….
utto cite the cause is not enough: the causal mechanism must also be provided, or at least suggested.”
Existing definitions differ a great deal from one another, but underlying them all is an emphasis on making intelligible the regularities being observed by specifying in detail how they were brought about. The currently most satisfactory discussion of the mechanism concept is found in Machamer, Darden and Craver (2000). Following them, mechanisms can be said to consist of entities (with their properties) and the activities that these entities engage in, either by themselves or in concert with other entities. These activities bring about change, and the type of change brought about depends upon the properties and activities of the entities and the relations between them. A mechanism, thus defined, refers to a constellation of entities and activities that are organized such that they regularly bring about a particular type of outcome, and we explain an observed outcome by referring to the mechanism by which such outcomes are regularly brought about (see also
Hedström and Ylikoski 2010).
See also
*
Mechanism (philosophy)
Mechanism is the belief that natural wholes (principally living things) are similar to complicated machines or artifacts, composed of parts lacking any intrinsic relationship to each other.
The doctrine of mechanism in philosophy comes in two diff ...
*
Analytical sociology
Analytical sociology is a strategy for understanding the social world. It is concerned with explaining important macro-level facts such as the diffusion of various social practices, patterns of segregation, network structures, typical beliefs, a ...
*
Critical realism
*
Generalized exchange
Generalized exchange is a type of social exchange in which a desired outcome that is sought by an individual is not dependent on the resources provided by that individual. It is assumed to be a fundamental social mechanism that stabilizes relati ...
*
Methodological individualism
In the social sciences, methodological individualism is a method for explaining social phenomena strictly in terms of the decisions of individuals, each being moved by their own personal motivations. In contrast, explanations of social phenomen ...
*
Explanation
An explanation is a set of statements usually constructed to describe a set of facts that clarifies the causes, context, and consequences of those facts. It may establish rules or laws, and clarifies the existing rules or laws in relation ...
*
Explanandum and explanans
An explanandum (a Latin term) is a sentence describing a phenomenon that is to be explained, and the explanans are the sentences adduced as explanations of that phenomenon. For example, one person may pose an ''explanandum'' by asking "Why is ther ...
References
* Elster, J. 1989. ''Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* Hedström, P. and P. Ylikoski. 2010. Causal mechanisms in the social sciences. ''Annual Review of Sociology'' 36: 49–67.
* Machamer, P., L. Darden, and C.F. Craver. 2000. Thinking about mechanisms. ''Philosophy of Science'' 67:1-25.
Sociological terminology
Philosophy of science
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